Companies advertising during the Super Bowl this year paid a record amount to air their spots: an estimated $8 million for 30 seconds during the broadcast. But this is just what they paid to run the commercial and doesn’t include any production expenses or licensing fees. Now throw in a celebrity to share your message, and you’re likely to add several million more to your total.
And celebrities are increasingly common in Super Bowl advertising. Just fifteen years ago, only one in three ads featured a celebrity. But since 2020, about 70% of them include these recognizable faces. That trend didn’t stop this year, with ads including many celebrities designed to appeal to a huge range of consumers. Did you see Shaboozey? Martha Stewart? Ben Affleck?
And what about one of today’s biggest celebrities, Taylor Swift? Just her presence at the Super Bowl, cheering on her Kansas City Chiefs boyfriend Travis Kelce for the second straight year, is believed to have brought new interest in the NFL among a different demographic, younger and more female. It’s part of a larger trend for women viewers of the big game; they were reportedly 49% of the audience last year.
As women continue to comprise a larger part of viewership, even the choice of celebrities have changed. There are fewer ads featuring just male celebrities and instead many ads, nearing 80% in recent years, use mixed gender spots. An example this year: Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal in a Hellmann’s Mayonnaise spot. It was a hit for some and a miss for others.
So why is the use of celebrities so popular in Super Bowl advertising? Popular stars are great for capturing our attention and generating positive emotions. Sometimes they give us nostalgic recollections. And often they are unifying and noncontroversial, which is very appealing to advertisers who are not looking to take many risks right now. Yet using a celebrity does not guarantee a popular ad, much less an increase in sales.
Activities:
- Ask students: Which celebrities did they see in ads during the Super Bowl? How many of the celebrities listed are women?
- Show students the ad from Nike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0Ezn5pZE7o. Who is the target market for this ad? Are these women effective for the brand?
- Have students visit this website to view all the ads in one place: https://www.superbowl-ads.com/category/video/2025_ads/. They might find favorites and share with the class.
- Show students a video critiquing the ads this year: https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/video/ads-won-2025-super-bowl-118644571.
- Ask students to form small groups and determine a brand and celebrity pairing they think would be successful for a Super Bowl ad.
Sources: O’Reilly, Lara and Meaney, Mackenzie, (04 Feb 2025) The Super Bowl ad recipe for politically charged times: humor, nostalgia, and a generous helping of A-list celebrities, Business Insider. Lacques, Gabe, (06 Feb 2025) $8 million Super Bowl commercials reflect NFL’s endless growth and a Taylor Swift effect, USA Today.
